Best refurbished laptop deals for small budget

Remember the times when you had to cough up over $600 only to get a laptop with 2GB ram and a single core processor? The times when your Windows XP would lag playing even the most pixelated games? Well, luckily that era is over and we have an amazing selection of amazing laptops with just under 200 or 300 dollars. I’ve managed to personally own all the laptops mentioned below due to having worked at a hardware store for a short summer period. I even own two of the models to this very date.

It’s also good to notice if your budget is slightly more than $200 or $300 then this review will still be appropriate for you as these models are very customizable and always have versions with meaner specs that cost a tad bit more.

Let’s cover the best laptop brands in that budget range

Obviously, we’re not going to be able to afford brand new Alienware or Macbook laptops with a $200 budget and we don’t want a cheaper plastic laptop that would break down easily (*cough* Dell Inspiron *cough*) so I’ve filtered this review on the following criteria: build quality, durability, pricing, battery life, features, screen and general specs.

There will be a proper range for different uses, something for students, something for gamers and plenty for casual internet users.

best laptop to buy under 200 dollars

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The first model is a Dell Latitude E6420 that makes into our list for several reasons. Latitude is Dell’s business class series and having had owned two Latitudes you definitely can see that it’s built to last. These can last a century, but what makes it really special is this specific model comes witha very strong processor and a lighting fast SSD. These two parts alone cost already 95$.

You have a fast business class laptop that is built strong, it has good design and it’s lightweight, compact and comfortable. Not to mention a large variety of different ports, which Dell Latitude series takes huge pride in.

Ideal laptop for work or home use

The only thing that there is to complain about really is the lack of storage and a proper graphics card, but it’s still a very good budget laptop.

This review that you are currently reading is done by this very same, HP EliteBok 2560p model. I bought it refurbished (it had 3 years of mileage on it) and I’ve been using it for over 2 years now. I added a little bit RAM, because it’s cheap, but honestly, I haven’t had any single issues with this laptop. Let’s dive into it.

The screen is small, only 12.5 inches, but as I like to carry my laptop around the school, work, meetings etc. then this is perfect for me. But beware, this is not a lightweight laptop. It has a metal frame and every imaginable port, even a CD slot. Mine includes keyboard lighting, smart card reader, VGA, either and HDMI. Can’t really complain as I’ve needed all of these ports in past. Also a webcam and a fingerprint scanner. You also have a pointing stick, but it isn’t too comfortable.

Quite likely the best laptop for writers

This is the best bang-for-buck laptop ever created if you’re into smaller laptops. It’s built like a tank! Perfect for dragging it onto a sofa and start typing. It’s not a modern design or much of a looker, but much like the Dell Latitude series, the HP EliteBook series is a business class laptop. You could even use this specific model as a melee weapon in time of crisis. It’s that durable!

But sometimes I do miss a larger screen and this model isn’t really as quiet I would like it to be due to the older hard drive. If you replace it with SSD you’ll have the perfect model. Almost.

best laptops for college under 200 dollars

the best laptop for students

Now I truly think this is the best laptop for university students because it features a wide enough screen, it looks aesthetic enough not to embarrass you, but most importantly it’s SERIOUSLY FAST. It features an SSD which grant you 5-second boot-up if you have Windows 10 installed. This is the same processor mentioned above and it’s benchmark scores as great, combined with a stunning 8 gigs of RAM this can handle multitasking and excessive document and research work easily!

On top of that, it’s lightweight and durable, like the Dell Latitude above, as this also belong to Dell’s business series. Also in the time of crisis, it DOES handle CS:GO, basic photo editing and a little bit of video editing.

The downside is of course the lack of storage and well, it could look a little bit more modern. It’s a bit robust, but an awesome piece of equipment for it’s price!

Much like the last Dell Latitude, the E6410 is also perfect for school use or for college students. This business series laptop features a 14 inch screen for those who want a bigger screen and it has also 8 gigs of RAM with a lighting fast 128GB SSD. But the bigger screen comes with a minor setback, the processor, while still a respectable Intel Core i5 series, it’s slightly weaker in performance.

But worry not, it’s still a great pick for school use, it looks up to date and has all fancy ports you might need for your presentations. The bigger laptop also has more comfortable keyboard and overall looks better in the design area.

There’s not much to complain for that size, but it is slightly weaker than the other laptops in this review which use the Intel Core i5-2520M. Also the fast usage and boot-up comes with the price of a smaller storage, which tends to be the case with HDD vs SSD scenarios.

best laptop for home users under 200 dollars

Possibly the best laptop for parents

Finally! A notorious Thinkpad! Now the T420 is a machine with a great reputation for a good reason, it’s built foolproof and packs a lot of power. It comes with 8 gigs of RAM to keep the computer fast and uses are good old i5-2520M processor. Your parents might not care for that, but you don’t have to worry for them.

The design might not be pleasant (to be honest, I kind off hate it) but as a workstation it’s the perfect laptop. It has an older, bigger hard drive that can storage as many videos and pictures your parents might ever dream to, but the computer isn’t exactly fast in the bootup or file exchange area due to the older, bigger hard drive. That’ shouldn’t be a problem for your parents.

the best laptop for home use

All in all, it’s a sturdy, reliable old design that can handle a beating. It’s definitely a great choice for budget-friendly home use laptop. The price to quality ratio is hard to argue against here.

the best laptop for kids

Need the first computer for your kid? Something that you wouldn’t have to worry about getting broken on the first fall? Well, the old T420 Thinkpad is the answer. Much like it’s appropriate for older people, it’s equally good for younger people who might not still appreciate technology for it’s whole worth.

The best laptop for programming

Alright programmers! A mean i5 processor with plenty of storage (320GB) to hold your software and with a screen size (14″) wide enough to program then this EliteBook is the perfect fit for under $200 budget. It’s fast, it’s reliable, comfortable and perfect for coding.

Feel comfortable dragging it to co-working spaces or around the house as you please as the EliteBook is HP’s business class series model – it’s built to last and endure.

The best laptop for business

I had 4 of these in my last workplace and we couldn’t have been happier because it had the VGA port for presentations, it’s built so strong that you don’t have to worry about breaking it, it comes with a wide screen and comfortable keyboard. It browses the internet fast and has plenty of storage and ram to manage your everyday work duties such as MS Office, Outlook and Powerpoint presentations. No problems with Photoshop, either.

This is the jack of all trades laptop, it’s not the best in anything but it’s the safe choice for sure.

The best laptop for the money

While it’s obvious you can’t get a “real” gaming laptop under 200 dollars, then this comes pretty darn close. The integrated Intel HD graphic card may scare you off but here’s the games that I’ve played with this model and without any problems: CS:GO, DOTA2, LoL, Dirty Bomb, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Borderland 1, 2 and The Prequel and many more! While true, not on the highest settings, but it ran perfectly fine onfrom low-to-medium settings. Why? Well because under the hood we have the i5-3320M processor which boasts with an impressive benchmark rating. Lo and behold.

Why? Well because under the hood we have the i5-3320M processor which boasts an impressive benchmark rating. of 4033. Lo and behold.

Honestly, this is an amazingly well-configurated laptop for this price range and it will fulfill your gaming needs for cheap. It also gets hundred bonus points for being durable and having the best trackpad pointer in the game.

Lenovo Thinkpad VS Dell Latitude VS HP Elitebook Comparison Review

Well, quite frankly there is no clear winner in this debate as they are all business class laptops that have been built to survive a nuclear war. It’s even said that the Thinkpad was discovered by cavemen centuries before they discovered fire. These laptops have identical specs and identical budget ranges, so how to we declare the winner?

Well, by personal preference. If lightweight and beautiful design are important to you then Dell Latitude is the clear winner. For workplaces to buy in bulk, I’d have to give it to HP Elitebook, for no other reason than it just works. And last, for the self-proclaimed engineers, programmers and other computer nerds like myself, Thinkpad is the best due to the fact it’s just so easy to customise and upgrade.

Each to their own!

Final Conclusion

This is it for our reviews of best laptops under 200 dollars. If you have any suggestions leave a comment below.

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